Matching bank transactions to accounting entries automatically, rather than line by line.
Software compares incoming payments against open invoices using references, amounts, dates and counterparty names, clearing what matches and leaving only exceptions for a human.
Structured references are what make this reliable: a QR reference or an ISO 20022 end-to-end reference lets a payment be matched with certainty, where a free-text message requires guesswork. Automating reconciliation is typically the single largest time saving available in a fiduciary's bookkeeping work.
Amounts customers owe the company for goods or services already delivered. They appear under current assets on the balance sheet.
A customer invoice creates a receivable when it is issued, and clears it when the payment arrives. Matching incoming payments to the right invoice is reconciliation, which is why structured references such as the QR reference exist.
Receivables that are unlikely to be collected must be written down, since Swiss accounting requires assets to be stated prudently.
Amounts a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. They appear under current liabilities on the balance sheet.
In bookkeeping, a supplier invoice creates a payable when it is recorded, and clears it when paid. The gap between the two is what a cash flow forecast depends on, and the aged payables list is how a fiduciary sees what is falling due.
A statement summarising revenue, expenses and the resulting profit or loss over a period, typically the financial year. Also called the profit and loss account.
Where the balance sheet is a snapshot at one date, the income statement covers the span between two such dates, and explains how equity changed over it.
Swiss law allows two presentations: by nature, grouping expenses by type such as salaries and rent, or by function, grouping them by activity such as production and administration. Most Swiss SMEs use the presentation by nature.
A financial statement presenting what a company owns and owes at a specific date, usually the close of the financial year.
It has two sides that always balance:
Unlike the income statement, which covers a period, the balance sheet is a snapshot at one moment. It is one of the three parts of the Swiss annual accounts, alongside the income statement and the notes.
The total income generated by a company's business activities before any costs are deducted. Also called turnover, and the top line of the income statement.
Revenue matters beyond performance measurement, because several Swiss obligations are keyed to it: VAT registration from CHF 100,000 of worldwide taxable turnover, full double-entry accounting above CHF 500,000 for sole proprietorships and partnerships, and eligibility for the net tax rate method up to CHF 5,024,000 including VAT.
Revenue is recorded net of VAT, since VAT collected is owed to the ESTV rather than earned.
A cost incurred in running the business, recorded in the income statement and reducing profit for the period.
Common categories include rent, salaries and social charges, utilities, insurance, professional fees and office supplies.
An expense is distinct from an asset purchase: buying a laptop creates an asset that is depreciated over several years, while the monthly software subscription to run it is an expense in the period it relates to.
The owners' residual interest in the business: what would remain if every asset were realised and every liability settled.
Assets − liabilities = equity.
For a Swiss company it typically comprises share capital, legal and voluntary reserves, and retained earnings carried forward. Minimum share capital is CHF 100,000 for an SA, of which at least 20% of each share's nominal value must be paid in, subject to an absolute floor of CHF 50,000. For a Sàrl the minimum is CHF 20,000, fully paid in.
When liabilities exceed assets, equity turns negative. This is overindebtedness, which triggers specific duties on the board under Swiss law.
What a company owes to third parties. Liabilities appear on the right side of the balance sheet, alongside equity.
In everyday use, "debt" tends to mean borrowed money specifically, while "liabilities" covers every obligation, including unpaid invoices.
The resources a company owns and expects to draw economic benefit from. They appear on the left side of the balance sheet.
Swiss accounting splits them in two:
Total assets always equal liabilities plus equity.
The first balance sheet of a company, drawn up when it is founded, showing its assets, liabilities and equity at that moment.
For a Swiss SA or Sàrl it records the capital contributed by the founders, whether in cash or in kind, and is a required part of the incorporation file.
It also sets the baseline against which every later financial statement is compared.
The official public record of companies and legal entities in Switzerland, maintained by each canton.
Registration gives a company legal personality and makes its key details public: legal form, registered office, purpose, share capital and the people authorised to sign on its behalf.
Companies such as an SA or Sàrl must register. Sole proprietorships only have to register once annual turnover exceeds CHF 100,000. Each registered entity holds a unique business identification number (IDE/UID), which also serves as its VAT number.
A report from a bank listing all transactions on an account over a given period, with the opening and closing balances.
For bookkeeping, the statement is the source document reconciled against the ledger: every entry on it should correspond to a booked transaction, and anything unmatched points to a missing or duplicated entry.
Statements are delivered on paper, as PDFs, or as structured camt.053 files, which accounting software can import and reconcile automatically.
An independent professional who reviews and verifies a company's financial statements, giving an opinion that the accounts present a true picture.
Switzerland distinguishes two levels. An ordinary audit applies to companies that, in two successive financial years, exceed two of three thresholds: CHF 20 million total assets, CHF 40 million turnover, or 250 full-time employees on annual average. Everyone else falls under a limited audit, which is lighter in scope.
Companies with fewer than ten full-time employees on annual average may waive the audit entirely, with the agreement of all shareholders. This is known as opting out and is common among Swiss SMEs. Conversely, shareholders representing at least 10% of share capital can demand an ordinary audit, known as opting up.
Associations are subject to lower thresholds for an ordinary audit: CHF 10 million total assets, CHF 20 million turnover, or 50 full-time employees on annual average.
The year-end financial statements that present a company's financial position and performance.
Under Swiss law they comprise three parts:
Larger companies must add a cash flow statement and a management report. The accounts are approved by the shareholders' meeting and form the starting point for the tax return.
The legal requirement to keep financial records and prepare accounts.
In Switzerland the obligation is set by the Code of Obligations and scales with size. Sole proprietorships and partnerships with annual turnover below CHF 500,000 keep simplified accounts (income, expenses and asset position), often called comptabilité simplifiée. Above that threshold, and for all companies entered in the commercial register such as an SA or Sàrl, full double-entry accounting with annual accounts is required.
Accounting records must be kept for ten years.
